[originally published 10/18/07](antiMusic) [The following story was our most read individual story of 2007. We were pretty surprised too.] Bon Jovi proclaimed with the title of their boxset that their fans can't be wrong but it turns out that in the eyes of the power that be in the Bon Jovi camp that their most loyal fans are often wrong. At least when it comes to critiquing the services they receive after paying $50 to become a member of the band's fan club. Some fans have had enough and started an online petition addressed to Jon Bon Jovi. But you won't hear about it on the message boards within the fan club because those are heavily censored. The petition reads in part: "We, the disappointed members of Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi, sign this petition after much patience with and tolerance of the new fan club. We believe that the new fan club is not acting in the best interests of its members, in particular: 1. Promises made in exchange for the annual 06-07 membership fee, such as contests and online chats with you, have not been delivered 2. The fees charged for tickets, ticket packages and fan club events are heavily inflated 3. The online ticketing system is unreliable, taking an average time of 2-3 hours to purchase a ticket (comparable to 5 minutes for some other artists) with many issues and grief to fans 4. Local fan club members are unable to get tickets to local shows."
Many fans are apparently afraid to speakout against the problems with the club over a fear of being bannished. We did manage to speak with one member who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity and this member laid out some of the major issues that spawned this online protest against the Bon Jovi fan club which says, "we seek an ethical and modern fan club that offers value for money that can be enjoyed by global fans from all demographics."
Despite the heavy censorship on fan club message board where we are told it is difficult for fans to find out what is really going on because "the admins of the board keep deleting the fan complaints," the biggest complaint that fans have against the club is the fan club tour packages and their inflated prices, thus taxing fan loyalty. - more on this story
